TAMPA: Tom Brady sealed his place in the pantheon of America's greatest sporting icons on Sunday, winning a record seventh Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers routed the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9. The 43-year-old Brady -- who became the oldest man to play in the Super Bowl -- etched another remarkable chapter in his 21-year career as the Buccaneers shattered the Chiefs' dreams of back-to-back NFL championships.
Brady - who only joined the Buccaneers last year after two decades with the New England Patriots, delivered a vintage display with three touchdowns - 21 from 29 completions and no interceptions at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium.
"I'm so proud of all these guys," said Brady, named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player for the fifth time. "Everything we dealt with all year ... but the team had a lot of confidence, we came together at the right time," added Brady, who confirmed he plans to extend his career next season. "We're coming back. You know that," Brady said.
It was a miserable night for the Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, seen by many as the likeliest pretender to Brady's throne. Mahomes, 25, was roughed up repeatedly by a relentless Buccaneers defense, sacked three times and intercepted twice, and failed to register a touchdown as the Chiefs' vaunted offense failed to fire. "Obviously I didn't play the way I wanted to play," said Mahomes. "We battled to the very end. That's one thing you can say."
Instead the night belonged to the Buccaneers and Brady, who added another incredible feat to his extensive catalogue of achievements by leading his new franchise to the Vince Lombardi trophy after a tumultuous season played under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I'm not putting any comparisons," Brady said when asked to rank his achievement. "This team is world champions forever and you can't take it away from us."
Chiefs pay penalty
The expected Super Bowl classic never materialized in front of a reduced capacity crowd of 25,000 fans that included 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers invited as guests by the NFL. The Buccaneers raced into a 21-6 first half lead with two touchdowns from Brady's old Patriots team-mate Rob Gronkwowski and a third from Antonio Brown.
Running back Leonard Fournette rushed for a fourth early in the third quarter as the Bucs comfortably closed out a win that saw head coach Bruce Arians become the oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl. "This really belongs to our coaching staff and our players," Arians said afterwards.
The Chiefs were left to rue a disastrously undisciplined first half display that saw them give up repeated penalties that cost 95 yards. "You just can't do the things we did and beat a good football team like that," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. "It's uncharacteristic and it's too bad it happened today. It was a bad day to have a bad day."
The Chiefs were never in the game after taking the lead with a 49-yard Harrison Butker field goal, with the Bucs defense pressuring Mahomes from the outset. The Buccaneers sparked into life on their third drive, which ended with Brady picking out Gronkowski to put the Bucs 7-3 up with Ryan Succop's extra point.
The Bucs were back in good field position soon afterwards when a penalty left the Chiefs punting from close to their own goal-line. The Chiefs looked to have snaffled an interception off a deflected Brady pass but again another holding penalty let the Bucs off the hook.
Defense dominant
It got worse for the Chiefs soon afterwards when another penalty, this time for an infraction at the line of scrimmage, turned a Succop field goal attempt into a Bucs first down. On the next drive, Brady found Gronkowski in the end zone once more to make it 14-3. With the Chiefs again settling for a field goal on their next possession, the Bucs regained the ball leading 14-6 with a minute remaining in the half.
Yet again penalties proved to be the Chiefs' nemesis. A 34-yard pass attempt from Brady to Evans earned a flag after Bashaud Breeland tripped Mike Evans. Another holding penalty, this time against Tyrann Mathieu, left the Buccaneers on the one-yard line with 13 seconds left.
This time Brady arrowed a bullet pass through a crowd of defenders to find Brown for a touchdown and a 21-6 lead. After a Butker field goal made it 21-9, Fournette plunged the dagger with a 27-yard gallop for a touchdown in the third quarter. Another Buccaneers field goal from Succop made it 31-9 heading into the fourth quarter, and the game ended as the Bucs grabbed another interception. - AFP